It takes time for a benchmark assessment system to produce results. This session examines one state’s implementation of such a system, exploring evidence from two independent studies, one a longitudinal quasi-experimental study, the other a randomized controlled trial. Findings appear to suggest the presence of impacts on student performance and on teachers’ choices about instructional practice.

Terry Spradlin will discuss the pattern of change over three years of surveys and focus groups and two years of on-site visits targeting Indiana’s voluntary, statewide rollout of diagnostic assessments. He will compare No Child Left Behind performance of students in schools using the assessments to those that are not. A primary finding is that teachers do not use the system to its full potential until they believe it will help them with their students in their classrooms.

Spyros Konstantopoulos will present evidence from a randomized controlled trial on the first year impacts on student performance on state tests. Using data from teacher logs obtained during the same experiment, Andrew Swanlund will describe evidence of change in teacher instructional behaviors in the first year of implementation.

The three presentations will be intentionally brief, to assure ample time for the discussants and audience to react. The discussants offer multiple perspectives including prior state test administrator and current vendor (Bond) and researchers (Nabors Olah). The moderators (Miller and van der Ploeg) will join and support the conversation among audience and panelists.